


love came and hit me in the eye

by niallhoranbitches



Category: One Direction (Band), Zayn Malik (Musician)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Half-Blood Louis, Hufflepuff Niall, M/M, Muggle Raised Louis, Muggleborn Niall, Mutual Pining, Slytherin Louis, and so gone, they're just so oblivious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-20
Updated: 2017-04-20
Packaged: 2018-10-21 08:13:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10681287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niallhoranbitches/pseuds/niallhoranbitches
Summary: “How to woo a Hufflepuff?”Zayn read with disbelief clear in his voice. “You're kidding?”“Nah,” Louis answered proudly. “This is serious research that will give me all the knowledge I need.”Zayn rolled onto his back so he was now facing Louis. There were loads of emotions showing on his face, but from them all, the disapproval was probably the clearest.“You saidmyadvice was rubbish and now you're going to dothat?” Zayn asked, offended.





	love came and hit me in the eye

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alnima](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alnima/gifts).



> Ayy, I'm finally done! I've experienced a lot of "first times" while writing this fic - it was my first HP universe fic, my first Nouis, my first work over 10k. It's taken a month of hard work, looooooads of research and brainstorming ideas. I hope it was worth it and that you'll like it. 
> 
> Cheers to the admin for creating such an amazing exchange and always being supportive and kind. Big thanks also to **alnima** for giving me the best prompts I could ever dreamt of, it was a challenge to just pick one of them (so i kind of mixed two). Hugs and kisses to my wonderful friends who motivated me and listened to my whinings, especially for **Jules**. She was the McGonagall to my Louis and I wouldn't make it without her  <3

Hearing screams, swear words, and insults wasn’t uncommon when you were walking around the castle’s halls. Quite frankly, most of the time Niall was the one screaming and swearing. He didn’t do it on purpose, though. He just happened to be an owner of a boisterous voice and an Irish temper. The teachers must’ve had a tolerance that was oceans deep to be able to deal with him. And somehow, some teachers even took a liking to Niall’s loud and obnoxious personality. During his whole five-year Hogwarts experience he had gotten detention for pushing it too far only once. Actually he had been punished for other things but that wasn’t the point here. The point was; Niall didn’t mind the noise. Most of the time.

But when the noise was a sign of someone being bullied, Niall did mind and he wasn’t going to ignore it. Instead of finding Harry like he intended to, he rounded a corner, reached for his wand and hid it in his sleeve just in case he’d be needing it. He walked straight up to Gryffindor boys, all about twice the size of him, who were huddled around a small, yelling boy.

“Oi!” Niall called out and four heads snapped up and turned into his direction. “Is there a problem, mate?”

Niall stopped a few feets away from them, his head held high when he arched one eyebrow at the bullies. His words were aimed for the little guy, whose face still was out of his view, but Niall was eyeing the Gryffindors with warning in his eyes. For the extra impression, he let his wand peek just a bit from under his sleeve.

Niall wasn’t stupid. Or crazy. He was fully aware of how badly he could be beaten up. But that hadn’t stopped him before and every time things worked out for him. Quick reactions, the illusion of confidence, and a few well-known spells happened to be good enough so far.

“Or maybe you guys wanna fucking try with someone more your size?” Niall asked. This was ridiculous. He was about the bullied one’s size and for a brief second the blonde boy wondered if he didn’t go too far.

The Gryffindors looked at each other, apparently having some kind of mental conversation. After a second or two they had to made a decision, because one of them said:

“Nah, everything is fine. We were just talking.”

Sending one last glance to towards their victim, a Slytherin from what Niall saw, they nodded at Niall and walked away. The blonde boy followed them with his gaze, couldn’t help a sigh of relief when they disappeared behind the corner. It was the first time when he had thrown down a challenge to more than one person.

Finally, he looked at the unknown lad, sending him a grin. And well, it turned out that he wasn’t someone completely unfamiliar to Niall. After all, there might be just a few people in the entire castle who had no idea who Louis Tomlinson was. 

The guy who tried to climb the Whomping Willow just because someone said it’s impossible? The guy who charmed a bunch of little paper cats to follow Professor McGonagall around the castle for a few hours before she noticed them? The guy, a Slytherin Chaser, who (almost) single-handedly defeated the Gryffindor Quidditch team in the opening match? The cheekiest little shit with a face of a pretty fairy? That was Louis Tomlinson in all his glory.

Louis Tomlinson, who was now watching Niall with an unamused expression on his face.

With a grin still in place, Niall raised one eyebrow in a questioning gesture, taking a few steps towards the Slytherin.

“I had this,” Louis said. “You didn’t have to help me.”

“I don’t doubt that, mate,” Niall answered with a laugh that didn’t make Louis look at him any kinder. “I was just passing by. Wanted to get to the kitchen for some ice cream. Wanna join me?”

Not waiting for an answer, Niall walked past - now confused - Tomlinson. To be honest, neither going for ice cream nor inviting Louis to come along was his intention. However, the decision had been made and since it always was a good time for ice cream, Niall was going to stick with it.

The blonde boy had almost reached the end of the corridor when he heard a loud, “Oi, wait for me!” followed by quick footsteps chasing him.

For absolutely no reason, a winning smile appeared on Niall’s face as he slowed down his pace.

***

Despite what people might think, it wasn’t that hard to draw Louis Tomlinson’s attention. Keeping it focused on a certain thing or person was a whole different story, but for some reason, it was firmly believed that one had to be a good challenge to make him interested. 

First of all, Louis wasn’t sure why ways to engage him became such a widespread topic around the castle. Second of all, he had never withdrawn from a nice challenge. Most of the time that meant a good laugh so why would he say no to that? And third of all, those speculations were completely tosh and it was pretty easy to catch Louis’ attention.

Like that guy from yesterday, Louis thought. That one with fake blond hair and weird lilt in his voice. That Horan guy. Of course Louis had known him before, they had some classes together. But yesterday was the first time there was a proper interaction between them and Louis had mixed feelings about that.

He was aware that it  _ might  _ look bad to a random passerby, when he had been cornered by those three Gryffindor gits, who also happened to be Chasers jealous of his skills. Well, maybe it  _ might  _ become bad after Louis called them a bunch of bulky wazzocks. He would handle it somehow. But then that Puffy guy appeared, pulling that knight-in-a-shining-armour shit that made the bulky ones leave. Which was absolutely ridiculous, if you’d ask Louis, because come on. That Hufflepuff boy looked more like a fluffy pony than a knight of any kind. And - however nice it might be - Louis needn’t any of those.

Louis really planned on telling Horan all of those things. But suddenly he was caught off guard by a megawatt grin and was asked for bloody ice creams by that weirdo. However, what surprised Louis even more, was the fact that he had agreed to go.

Somehow, the fake blonde, Niall as he introduced himself, knew how to get to the kitchen (Louis did also, but he wasn’t aware that it was such a common skill) and, apparently, was quite well-known and liked there.

They sat by the table in a far and quiet corner of the room, near the fireplace. And then Niall started talking. Not that Louis asked him to, but apparently, he didn’t care. He talked about the most random things, from food, classes and Quidditch to his home and family back in Ireland. Louis wasn’t really aware of the moment he joined that babbling. Confiding in that barely known Hufflepuff wasn’t his intention after all. But… There was this thing about Niall. Louis didn’t know  _ what  _ it was, but it was something about how easy everything seemed to that boy. How annoying and nice his laugh was. How adorable he was with his blue eyes and that bloody ice cream of his. How easily that changed when he also appeared to be a real pain in the ass, who once charmed his friend’s quill to draw dicks all over his parchments. 

There was a lot of interesting things about that red-cheeks-y Puffy. And Louis liked interesting things.

***

The next time Niall had stumbled upon Tomlinson, was about a week after their first encounter in the hall.

Niall was slowly making his way through the Grounds, not bothered by the chilliness of the November afternoon. The weak rays of sunshine were peeking through the thick clouds and that was enough to make Niall enjoy the day. At least it wasn’t raining. However, when one of his classmates rather quickly ran past the blonde boy, he realised that he needed to rush as well, if he didn’t want to be late. And he did not, since he quite enjoyed Herbology.

When Niall had finally made his way to the greenroom, all of the students and Professor Longbottom were already there. The latter wasn’t surprising, though, since he seemed to not leave the greenrooms until it was completely necessary.

“Today,” Professor Longbottom said after his voice finally managed to break through the noise the students were making, “we’re going to take care of some Screechsnaps. They’re already big enough to repot them, so this is your task for today. Since we’ve learned about them lately, I hope you remember that it’s easy to hurt or at least irritate them, so you should be really careful. Pair up and let’s go to work.”

As usual, Niall took the stand closest to the greenhouse’s exit and he looked around, trying to spot his friend Harry in the small crowd. Before he had managed to get the curly boy’s attention, somebody dragged his own’s from the task.

“Mind if I join you?”

Turning his head towards the noise, Niall realised that it was Louis, already taking the spot on the other side of the workstation. The blonde boy raised one eyebrow at his apparent partner and answered, failing miserably at his attempt to stop a smile:

“What if I do?”

“Then you have a problem, since I’m already here, don’t you think?” Louis explained politely while putting on his gloves, not even looking at Niall. “Besides, you can only dream of a better partner than me.”

“Oh yeah?” Niall laughed. “Actually, I was waiting for my friend, who usually knows what he’s doing during these classes. I bet you’re rubbish at it.”

Louis made an offended noise, his eyes widened in shock and his mouth hung open for a while in a shocked expression. Niall only laughed again at his acting.

“Excuse me very much,” Tomlinson started, emphasising every word, “I am, in faith, really awful at Herbology. Which only proves that I should stay here.” When Niall raised an eyebrow at him in a questioning gesture, he added, “Aren’t you the one who likes to save the oppressed ones?”

Niall only shook his head and a laugh escaped his mouth again. Without saying anything, he reached for a pot with a small plant. Its dark-green leaves were wriggling delicately under Niall’s touch.

“Can you give me one of those bigger pots and put some dragon manure in there? But not too much,” the Hufflepuff boy said, trying to gently remove the seedling from the container.

“Oh, so I’m here for the dirty work?” Louis said offended, but grabbed the pot anyway.

“Yup. If you’ll behave yourself, I might agree for a switch,” Niall grinned.

Turning his attention back to the Screechsnap he was holding, Niall started to slowly remove the old soil. His moves were gentle and full of care as he tried not to damage any roots.

“Those things are pretty sensitive, so you have to be delicate,” Niall started to explain. After all, Louis wanted him to help. “And they can be picky so you should remove some of the manure.”

Louis raised an eyebrow, snorting at Niall when he made sure that the Hufflepuff boy was being serious. With a face full of - mostly pretended - disgust, he reached to the pot and did what he was asked to. He watched as Niall placed the seedling there and covered its roots. The plant made a small sound, wriggling under Niall’s fingers as it was adjusting to the new surroundings. The blond boy moved his hands away to grab some more soil to stabilise the plant. Before he could do that, Louis threw a bit of the manure back to the pot, eyeing the Screechsnap. When nothing had happened, he did that again. Niall only watched him with amusement clear on his face. After the third try, the plant squealed, obviously affronted. It started to waggle its leaves and hadn’t stopped until Louis fixed what he did.

“Okay, okay. Sorry mate, no need to fight me,” the smaller boy said and Niall was pretty sure that he had patted one of the leaves on purpose.

Surprisingly (or maybe not at all), their teamwork went smoothly. Despite his constant bitching, Louis did everything he was asked to. Eventually, Niall let his partner repot a seedling by himself. Louis was a bit reserved at first, but he did a good job, only slightly guided by Niall’s advice.

“I’m cold,” Louis whined after a while, shivering a little. Niall could feel what he meant. Their stand were only a few steps away from the entrance and the chilly wind from the grounds was making its way inside.

“Why couldn’t you pick a place somewhere further inside?” the Slytherin asked, as it was Niall’s fault that the weather had gotten worse.

“First of all, I haven’t invited you here. And second of all… Not a fan of stuffiness and crowds,” Niall shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant. “‘M always staying here.”

He could feel Louis’ eyes on him, but instead of looking up at him, Niall took the last pot and focused his attention on filling it with soil and manure. Luckily, Louis hadn’t asked about more about it. Instead, he mumbled, barely audible:

“I guess I’ll have to put on an extra jumper next time.”

Weirdly enough, Niall had to hide behind a watercan to hide his smile.

***

“What’s gotten into you lately, mate?”

The partially irritated, partially amused voice shook Louis out of his thoughts. A bit confused, Louis turned his head to look at Zayn who was already staring back. Well, he had the right to be a bit pissed.

They were sitting in the courtyard, killing the time they had left until Charms would start. A few minutes ago they started discussing the assignment for History of Magic that was due in a few days. Well, to be honest, Zayn was the one discussing since Louis was too caught up in thinking about Niall.

He wouldn’t be doing that if the said Puffy wasn’t fooling around with a group of friends on the other side of the yard. The Irishman was speaking loudly (but not loud enough for Louis to hear, unfortunately), telling a story, judging by the wild movements of his arms. His eyes were glistening and his friends - as well as himself - were breaking into giggles every few minutes. Louis was just curious what the story was about. Maybe he just should go and ask? Was he allowed to do that? Of course he was allowed, he was allowed to do anything. And technically he and Niall were… Herbology partners. So it shouldn’t be weird if he approached Niall randomly, should it? Not that he cared about it, he could do it. He just wondered if Niall would look at him as he lost his mind and tell him to fuck off or would he rather smile? Of course he would smile. That fake blonde was always smiling and being kind, it was ridiculous. He was grinning even when he was mocking someone. Niall was absurd.

Anyway.

Despite it all being Niall’s fault, Zayn had the right to be a bit pissed at Louis for not paying attention. After all they were talking about some serious school stuff and he shouldn’t just ignore it like that.

“What would you do to pick someone up?” Louis asked. After all, in Louis’ life hierarchy there were things more important than some paper he had to do.

Zayn’s eyebrows moved even further up his forehead. A second later, a mocking grin started to form on his lips.

“Did you fall for the leprechaun?” Zayn asked.

Since he and Zayn were best friends, Louis had told him about that time when the Gryffindor Chasers wanted to mess with him and what had happened later. And he might or might not have mentioned Niall again once or twice. Or maybe more, but it was only mentioning so it didn’t count.

“The fuck, Zayn? Neil? You are more wrong than you ever have been wrong before. Actually, everything coming out of your mouth is wrong, so we shouldn’t really be surprised-” Louis started to protest.

Zayn only rolled his eyes. “Lou.”

“What!” he played dumb, but Zayn was having none of it. “Okay, maybe. I mean… he’s… quite okay. Stop smiling like that, you twat, you’re mad."

Zayn only laughed and Louis had to fight the serious urge to punch him. He shouldn’t have been asking, now he had to suffer. Patiently, Louis waited until his friend’s amusement faded.

“Well, ‘m not sure if I’m the best one to give advice like this,” Zayn finally said, “but maybe just… talk to him?”

“I am talking to him,” Louis pointed out, but his friend only snorted at this.

“Yeah, in Herbology. You have to admit that it’s not the most romantic setting, is it?”

When Louis thought about it now, being surrounded by dirt and manure wasn’t the nicest thing. If there was any mood to kill, it would have been killed. However, Louis still enjoyed those times.

“Wouldn’t it be weird?” Louis asked eventually.

“You’ve never been the one to worry about  weirdness, Lou,” Zayn teased. “You should ask someone else, if you want, but I think that you should talk to him outside classes if you want to take your… acquaintance outside of class, yeah?”

Louis was quiet for a moment before he mumbled, “Shut yo mouth, smartass.”

 

Zayn was right. About two things. At least partially. First - Louis should ask someone else for a better advice, Zayn was rubbish at this. Second - Louis should talk with Niall more. And since there were nicer places than stuffy greenrooms, Louis decided to exchange it for stuffy Potions class in the Dungeons (he was trying his best, ok?), And to make it work, Louis had to negotiate with that tall, curly lad, who seemed to always be attached to Niall’s side. 

It turned out to be pretty challenging to spot Harry when he was all alone. There always were people around him. Most of the time it was just Niall and that Gryffindor Keeper, Leyum or something. But to be honest, Harry seemed to have friends everywhere.

But then one day, thanks to very convenient concurrence of events and not to following Harry around the castle for almost an hour, before he'd finally split with some ginger Hufflepuff girl, Louis had spotted him alone. Not wasting more time, Louis quickened his pace and yelled after the curly-haired one:

“Oi, wait!”

Harry jumped a little and turned around, his hair bouncing with the movement. When he spotted Louis, his brows furrowed in confusion.

“You were calling after me?” Harry  asked.

It was a dumb question, considering that the hall was empty excluding them, but Louis didn't say anything out loud. He should be nice.

“Yeah, mate, wanted to ask you something,” Louis explained, sending the other boy a smile. “You’re Harry, right?”

“I am,” the Hufflepuff answered.

It sounded more like a question and the leery look didn't disappear from his face. Why did people always think he was up to something and became all suspicious when he just wanted to talk?

“Great! So I was wondering…” Louis started, pondering his next move. “We have Potions together, right, Harold?”

They were standing awkwardly in the middle of the hall, Louis smiling like a madman at Harry, who stood with crossed arms and his brow successively riding higher. Maybe it wasn't the best tactic, Louis thought. But he still could make it work.

“It's Harry, not Harold,” the taller boy corrected, “and yeah, we share that one.”

“I just thought - and I believe you'd agree with me - that switching our partners would be an amazing idea and we should totally do that,” Louis explained simply, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Harry's head cocked to the side. “Why?”

“Because sometimes a change like this is all you need!” the Slytherin boy started, but changed his plan, after seeing the other's face. “And besides I… I need help with Potions.”

“Why?”

“‘Cause… I suck at this?”

Louis bit his tongue to contain commentary about asking stupid questions. Come on Harry, what could possibly be another reason for getting help? Trying to get closer to someone? Sounded ridiculous.

“Why?” Harry repeated.

This time Louis couldn't stop a heavy sigh. What was wrong with this guy?

“Why I suck at Potions? It's dumb and-”

“No, I mean, why do you want to switch with me, if you need help?” Finally, the Hufflepuff boy revealed what he had in mind. “I mean, Zayn's way better at this.”

A bit caught off guard, Louis just stared at Harry for a few seconds. He didn't think this through. Curly was right. Zayn's brewing skills were quite impressive and Niall managed to blow up his cauldron once. However, compared to Louis standards, Niall was still pretty good.

“He is, but he's actually very rubbish at teaching others,” Louis finally said, giving himself a mental pat on the back for getting out of this. “His explanations are messy and he always yells at me.”

“Okay, fair enough. But why are you asking me? You should talk with Niall if you want to pair up with him. I can help you too, if you want.”

“That's so nice of you, but…” Louis hesitated, since ‘Niall's cute’ didn't seem like a good argument. “Me and Niall worked together in Herbology already and get along pretty well, so I thought that maybe I'd give it a try again?”

Harry squinted his eyes and Louis almost spluttered, since his words were very convincing. It would be impolite of Harry if he wouldn't believe him. After a second or two, though, Harry smiled, looking at the Slytherin boy with less wariness in his eyes.

“I mean, you should still ask Niall if you didn't already,” Curly stated before adding, “but I really appreciate that you asked me as well. And I don't mind switching for a while if that would help you.”

It costed some amount of self control to not fist bump the air that exact second, so Louis restricted himself to curl his hand into a fist in a victory gesture.

“Thank you, Harold, you're great!” the smaller boy sent another smile toward the other guy, this time much more convincing than the previous ones.

“It's Harry, not Harold,” the Puff corrected again.

But Louis didn't pay that much attention, because after saying his goodbye, he ran away to celebrate his victory.

***

Entering the dim, underground classroom on Monday morning, Niall was quite surprised to see Louis Tomlinson, sitting in Niall's usual place. The Slytherin boy had been sitting sideways, resting his arms on the table and the chair, and he was grinning, his eyes already placed on Niall. It was weird. A lot of things that Tomlinson did were weird and confusing, so Niall really should just get used to it.

“Are you lost?” Niall asked when he was close enough to Louis.

“No, what makes you think that?” Tomlinson asked.

“Cause you're sitting in my place.”

For whatever reason this made Louis even happier. It was kinda scary and Niall thought that maybe he inhaled some cheering potion. But there were no palpable scents or even full cauldrons nearby.

“Oh, big news, we're partners now,” Louis said nonchalantly. “I switched with Harry.”

Niall snorted. That guy was mad. He turned his head in search of support from Harry, with whom he entered the classroom. Except… Harry was not there. Confused, Niall did a full pivot, looking for his friend. He'd found him eventually and Harry was indeed sitting in the back of the classroom with Louis previous partner, Zayn. They were smiling, like the situation wasn't weird at all.

“What… is happening here?” Niall asked, turning his gaze back to Louis, “What did you do to Harry?”

“I can't believe that you're hurling accusations like this, Horan,” Louis said, acting offended, “I did nothing, I'm just helping a friend.”

“Oh, are you?” Niall asked, still standing next to the table.

“Yeah, Zayn has a crush on Harry, did you not know that?” Louis whispered, theatrically leaning towards Niall.

When the blonde boy glanced at the back of the class, where Harry was rummaging through his bag and Zayn was lazily sketching on the parchment, looking like he was seconds from falling asleep. Louis had to be right.

“Why do you want to kick me out so badly? I'll be good, promise,” the Slytherin added.

Niall sighed, defeated. “At least take the other chair. The one by the window is mine.”

With a smile, Louis slid his things to the other side of the table and changed his seat, making lots of noise in the meantime. Shaking his head, Niall rounded the table to finally sit down.

It's not like he didn't enjoy Louis’ company. It was quite the opposite, that Slytherin never failed to put a smile on his face with his bitchy attitude. It was just Potions that made him a bit grumpy. Being locked in the dungeons for an hour and a half was not Niall's favourite thing to do.

Professor Slughorn walked into the classroom just as Niall finally managed to find a quill in his bag. With the corner of his eye, he could see the glances Louis was sending him for the past few moments. However, the Slytherin boy hadn’t done anything more to draw Niall’s attention. It was a bit weird and the blond wasn’t sure what caused it but he was kind of grateful.

Niall didn’t pay attention to Slughorn’s words so he was a bit confused about what was happening. But then the Draught of Peace’s recipe appeared on the blackboard and well, at least he had heard about that one.

“I guess I’ll be doing the dirty work again, so lemme grab the ingredients,” Louis said and got up before Niall could even react.

After he got back and placed all the required things on the table, they started working in silence. Niall didn’t mind it. He usually was very chatty and didn’t have problems with finding a conversation piece, but silence was just as enjoyable to him. Louis however fidgeted a lot, and the quick peeks he sent towards Niall were a bit distracting probably for both of them.

And quite dangerous, because Louis didn’t stop sending them even when he started chopping the dandelion roots.

“You're gonna cut yourself,” Niall pointed out, smiling with the corner of his mouth.

“Oh, Neil! You worry about me!” Louis cooed, a bit mockingly. “How very sweet of you!”

“I'm worried that you'll fuck up the potion with your blood. And I don't fancy going to the Hospital Wing either,” Niall shrugged.

For a split second, Louis looked like he was a bit confounded by that answer, but he was back to his previous attitude soon afterwards.

“A real hero,” he said with fake awe in his voice.

Niall only chuckled, leaning on his elbows to check their potion.

“You think ‘s pink enough?” Niall asked.

Louis leaned beside him. His movement was definitely too rapid, since he knocked their heads together and the cauldron swayed a bit. With a face of a wizz, he eyed the inside of their cauldron.

“As pink as your cheeks, mate,” the Slytherin gave his verdict, grinning.

This was an obvious lie, since Niall's cheeks weren't as pink as the potion in that moment. They might turn that shade, though, after Louis’ words. It wasn't Niall's fault that his skin was permanently reddish. His mum said it was cute.

“Shut up and pour the syrup of hellebore. It can't be simmered for too long,” Niall answered, turning his head away, but still catching a glimpse of a smirk forming on Louis’ face.

 

By the end of the lesson, Niall’s mood had increased significantly, Louis’ lips were curled into that annoying grin almost constantly and their Draught of Peace, looked only slightly more beige than white.

***

It was going well. They were talking. Louis was able to make Niall laugh or blush during their shared classes and he was very proud of that achievement. However, it still felt like they were on the same level as before.

For Louis it wasn't quite enough. He wasn't sure why. It might had something to do with a smile that appeared on his face every time he saw Niall. Or with that fluttery feeling in his stomach when his smile was reciprocated. Or that constant need to talk with said Puffy whenever he could. Quoting Zayn's words from a few days ago, he was “pretty fucking gone for that guy.”

And, well, Louis didn't want to argue with his friend. What he did want was for Niall to be “pretty fucking gone” for him as well.

Since Louis’ previous efforts turned out to be ineffective, he decided to seek out more advice.

 

“What are you doin’?” Zayn asked, sending suspicious glances in Louis’ direction. He wasn't curious enough to get up and check it, though.

Louis was sitting on his bed with an intent face, a Muggle notebook and a pen in his hands.

“A questionnaire,” he answered absentmindedly, not even tearing his eyes off his work.

“A- what?” Zayn lifted his head a bit, brows furrowed in confusion.

“A questionnaire,” Louis repeated annoyed. “For a survey.”

Zayn leaned on his elbows, turning his upper body towards Louis so he could stare at him more intensely. It was the most rapid move Zayn did in past few hours, Louis noticed.

Saturday mornings were the time of Hogsmeade trips, but they both decided to skip it today. Zayn because he was a lazy ass, but he was defending his decision with the bad weather, and Louis because he needed some time to come up with a good plan. This is why they spent all morning and early afternoon chilling in their beds. However, Zayn haven't moved an inch.

“Lemme ask again - what?” Zayn repeated. “What do you need it for?”

His curiosity was on a high enough level for him to roll out of bed after getting no answer. He dropped down on Louis bed, making the smaller boy jerk up a bit.

“Oi! Stop it, wanker!” Louis hissed dangerously, when the sudden movement made him stain the paper.

Completely ignoring the warning, Zayn rested his chin on his friend's lap so he could see what the latter was working on.

“How to woo a Hufflepuff?” Zayn read with disbelief clear in his voice. “You're kidding?”

“Nah,” Louis answered proudly. “This is serious research that will give me all the knowledge I need.”

Zayn rolled onto his back so he was now facing Louis. There were loads of emotions showing on his face, but from them all, the disapproval was probably the clearest.

“You said  _ my  _ advice was rubbish and now you're going to do  _ that _ ?” Zayn asked, offended.

Louis only nodded, sending his friend a grin. After checking the time, he jumped out of his bed, knocking Zayn out in the process.

“Actually, I'll have the best opportunity to start in a bit! Dinner is about to start soon,” the smaller boy said.

From his spot on the floor, Zayn was staring at Louis like he'd just gone mad. Then, he shook his head and muttering under his breath, he crawled back to his bed and under the duvet.

 

As he had intended, Louis spent a big part of Saturday evening accosting random students and asking them about their opinions. Surprisingly, a lot of people didn't take him seriously. But there were also answers that sounded quite intriguing and Louis was ready to check them out. 

That one girl from Ravenclaw told him that one can have a Puffy's endless love after giving them a jar full of leaves. It sounded dumb, but what if that worked? Ravenclaws had always been finding the craziest shit in the books they read, but it was true, mostly, so why shouldn't he give it a try? A guy from Gryffindor told him that the only flowers the Puffys liked were dandelions. Then he got confused about whether a dandelion is a flower or a weed, so he didn't seem like the most reliable source. A few people indicated that the only way to a Puffy’s heart was through their stomach. Which… could be true. Louis wasn't sure if it applied for all the Hufflepuffs, but it might apply Niall, since the blonde boy was constantly grumbling about how hungry he was during their Herbology classes.

The weirdest thing that Louis encountered, though, was the reaction of the Hufflepuffs themselves. Louis thought, hoped even, that they'd be the best source, since who knew a Puffy better than other Puffys? He was surprised when almost all of them told him to fuck off and stop being rude. He wasn't being rude. They were, for attacking him like this, without a good reason. Okay, he might be pulling pranks more often than not, but it wasn't really polite of them for not even try to help. Weren't they supposed to be, like, nice?

Searching for information turned out to be much more tiring and frustrating than Louis had expected. Eventually, a bit after supper, he decided to call it a day and continue his research on Monday in between classes. As a treat for his foregoing work, he headed towards the kitchen. Walking around the castle and having to deal with people made him peckish again.

As soon as he passed the hidden entrance, the usual, soft hum reached his ears. Louis smiled when one of the house elves, Poppy, appeared in front of him with a quiet sound.

“Mister Louis!” she squeaked and bowed her head, the movement making her big ears flutter.

“Hello, Poppy,” Louis answered, “it’s nice to see you again. How are you?”

“Poppy is good and happy. Will be even more happy to bring you something tasty.”

And before Louis could react, she disappeared again. It was always like this, since the day they’d met. Poppy was one of the youngest elves (and probably the clumsiest one) and she was the first one Louis stumbled upon when he found out the way to enter the kitchen in his second year. A bit overwhelmed by the coziness of the place and the amount of house elves, he had heard a quiet weeping on his left. It turned out to be Poppy, who had just dropped a huge basket full of apples and tried to gather them again. Louis had helped her and, just like that, the bond between them was created.

Looking around the room, Louis’ eyes darted towards the far corner next to the fireplace. He was quite surprised to see Professor Longbottom and Professor Potter sitting there, sharing a cup of tea and chatting. His Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher was dressed in a big, red sweater and simple jeans, looking very different without his school robes. Professor Longbottom however looked like he had just come from the Greenrooms. Which wasn’t surprising, considering how passionate about his precious plants he was.

Stepping from one foot to the other, Louis considered if it would be impolite to sit there. Before he had an answer his eyes stopped on the questionnaire he was still holding. A smile appeared on his face as the idea formed in his head. The professors were supposed to be an authority and were here to help, right? So why wouldn’t he ask them as well?

With that in mind, Louis moved closer, fishing the pen from his pocket.

“Good evening, professors,” he cheered when he got close enough.

The men’s heads turned in his direction, with matching surprised expressions on them.

“Good evening, Mister Tomlinson,” Professor Potter answered, his eyebrow arched up. He didn’t ask what Louis was doing here, though.

Professor Longbottom only smiled at him. After such a good start (meaning - not being sent away to his dormitory or at least out of the kitchen), Louis decided to continue.

“I haven’t expected anyone to be here, but since I’ve run into you two, would you mind helping me with something?”

They exchanged a look before Potter nodded and his colleague answered,

“Sure, go ahead. We’ll try our best.”

“So,” Louis started, flipping a page in his notebook, “I’ve got a questionnaire but today’s experiences taught me that most of the questions here are useless. So I’m gonna skip to the point.” His explanation made the teachers exchange another worried look, so he continued, “And the point is, professors, what would you do to woo a Puffy?”

For a few moments it was completely quiet between the three of them.

“How to…” Longbottom repeated slowly, like he was trying to make sense of it.

“Woo? A Puff?” the other teacher finished, furrowing his brows in confusion.

“A Hufflepuff. Yes,” Louis confirmed with a nod and smiled.

His Herbology Professor scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, turning his gaze from his friend to his student.

“Well,” he started, “I don’t think it’s any different from, um,  _ wooing  _ anyone else, you know?”

“How you do it with anyone else then?” Louis asked.

A small huff of laughter escaped Longbottom’s mouth. “I’m not sure. Wasn’t really the wooing type when I was your age. Maybe Harry will be more helpful with that one.”

Both of them looked expectantly at the third man, who was unconsciously fiddling with the mug in his hands, eyes fixed on it as well. It took a few seconds before he noticed that they were waiting for his answer.

“Um,” Potter cleared his throat, “I don’t think I’m the expert here either. But you wooed Luna in your seventh year, didn’t you?”

“Well, if we take that into consideration, my advice would be ‘kill a murderous snake’ then,” Longbottom answered with a shrug.

“Which,” his Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher interjected, looking at Louis seriously, “is a bad idea and you should forget it. We don’t need any of those again.”

Louis, who listened to this exchange a bit confused, only nodded at his professor. He wasn’t  _ that  _ desperate. Or was he? Maybe doing something brave and kinda dangerous like this would make Niall like him? He wouldn’t have to get a big ass snake like the ones that his professors fought with. A small but poisonous one would do.

“Harry’s right, snakes are bad, don’t even think about it,” Professor Longbottom agreed. “There are better ways. Like… um… compliments. Or asking them out to Hogsmeade next time? You can manage without a snake.”

***

Niall was sitting in the Study Hall, helping Harry with his Astronomy essay, explaining differences between Jupiter's moons to the curly lad.

“So… Io is the icy one?” Harry asked, sounding bored.

“No, the icy one is Europa, Io has-” Niall was interrupted by a small piece of paper that nudged his cheek. 

The nudging didn’t stop until Niall managed to catch the little paper plane. A bit confused, he unfolded the sheet. After studying its contents, Niall's eyes widened a bit.

“What's this?” Harry asked curiously, leaning over the table.

He peeked at the paper in Niall's hands. It had, “Wanna go to Hogsmeade this weekend with me? Louis” scribbled quickly on it.

Not bothering with an answer, Niall raised his head and looked around the room. It wasn't that easy to spot Louis in the dim Study Hall, but eventually Niall found him in the far corner of the room. The Slytherin boy was already looking back at him with a small smile. Before Niall could really think it through, he nodded and a matching smile appeared on his face. The only answer he got was a flashing grin before Louis’ face disappeared behind the book he was reading.

And, well, that somehow explained Louis’ weird behavior that week. The Slytherin lad had been acting awkward during their shared classes and was more quiet than usual. He even approached Niall a few times during the breaks, seemed like he wanted to say something, but ended up talking nonsense and saying goodbye before Niall could react. Apparently, he just wanted to take a trip to Hogsmeade together.

“Niall?” Harry's voice drew him out of his thoughts. “Are you done with staring? Can we focus on helping me again, please?”

 

Niall was excited. He was more eager to get up on that December morning than he’d ever been in his life. It was really hard to get rid of the tingling feeling under his skin and to be honest Niall didn't really want to let it go. The little note he had received from Louis was carefully hidden between the pages of his “History of Magic” copy.

He wasn't stupid. He knew how to put two and two together. Louis seeking contact and being around Niall constantly was a sign the Slytherin boy wanted to befriend him. It was surprising but... nice. Niall really enjoyed the company and attention he had been getting. However, he couldn't get rid of the annoying voice in the back of his head that was telling him Louis’ efforts weren't strictly friendly. Or not  _ just _ friendly. But getting his hopes up was not something he wanted to do. It couldn’t do any good.

 

They were supposed to met in front of the Three Broomstick. When Niall had approached the building, it was a bit crowded. A living wave of students, trying to get inside, made it harder to spot Louis amongst them. It took a while, but finally Niall found him. Louis stood there, playing with the strap of his bag, cheeks flushed from the cold wind. He hadn't spotted Niall yet, too busy with looking around a bit nervously.

The blond boy looked away and sent a quick smile at Harry, who only returned the gesture and waved before walking away. As far as Niall was concerned, his friend was heading to Scrivenshaft’s Quill Shop. Not giving it a second thought, Niall turned towards the Three Broomstick again. And this time he was greeted by a big smile, spread across the Slytherin boy's face, who looked straight at him.

“You could've just came inside, ya know?” Niall said, stopping in front of Louis. “It's cold as fuck.”

“It's nice to see you, too,” Louis mocked, but didn't seem really bothered. “And, come on, we're not going there. Hoped for something more exciting, you know?”

Niall raised his eyebrows, surprised. The smile on Louis’ face turned into something looking more like a smirk and Niall couldn't help the nervous somersault his belly did. Niall wasn't sure if he liked it.

“Like what?” Niall asked, trying to act cool.

“You'll see. Come,” Louis said and he walked away, not waiting for a reaction.

It took Niall's brain a few moments to catch up and when that finally happened, he looked around and ran to draw level with the Slytherin. He hadn't taken the main road that lead to most of the shops. Instead, he turned right and lead Niall towards the less built-up part of the village. Before Niall could properly think this through, something was shoved into his arms.

“This is for you, by the way,” Louis said, sounding nonchalant, but Niall could feel the glances that Louis was sending him out of the corner of his eye.

Curiously, Niall lifted the mysterious gift a bit so he could inspect it closer. And well. There wasn't much to inspect since Louis had just handed him a jar. But it wasn't just an ordinary jar. It was a jar filled with leaves. And, as impressive as gathering leaves in the winter was, Niall was a bit more surprised than awestruck at this point.

“Um,” he started, not sure what he should say. But a gift was a gift after all, so eventually he smiled and said, “Thanks?”

“Yeah, um, no problem, mate,” Louis answered, with something that sounded like a disappointment in his voice. “So, um… How's your day?”

“It's just a bit past 11am, ya know? Was quite okay so far, hope you won't fuck it up,” Niall grinned.

And if Niall was a bit confounded by Louis’ question, Louis’ reaction to Niall's friendly mocking was even more startling. The Slytherin boy only hung his head a bit and scratched his neck in a nervous gesture. Not looking at Niall, he finally mumbled, instead of teasing back.

“Yeah, I hope I won't, too.”

Niall blinked at him, a bit concerned about what was going on. But then, he wasn't even sure if the moment really had happened, because Louis’ head snapped up, his cheerful expression back on its place and he started babbling about the last Quidditch match. And listening to Louis’ praising some of his moves in the last Hufflepuff vs Ravenclaw match distracted Niall enough not to think about Louis’ previous weird behaviour.

Talking about Quidditch eventually led to conversation about football, since both of them happened to be pretty keen on that sport back in home. It got Niall so involved that he didn't quite notice that they'd passed by the last houses and were now on the road that lead only to…

“The Shrieking Shack?” Niall raised his eyebrows, stopping in front of the old fence. “This is what you wanted to show me?”

“Yup!” Louis cheered, standing next to the Hufflepuff.

“You are aware that I've seen it before?”

Ignoring his rather sceptical voice, Louis pushed open the gate that made a loud, squeaky noise.

“But have you ever tried to get inside?” the Slytherin lad asked, waggling his eyebrows at Niall.

“You know it's probably impossible?” Niall started slowly, taking a few steps towards Louis. He didn't want to make his mood flop again.

“I thought you were the brave knight-y one here? I can hold your hand if you're too scared.”

And of course Niall wasn't scared. But as far as he was concerned, the Shrieking Shack was veiled in mystery for a really long time so maybe there were reasons to be scared. However, right now the blonde was more concerned about being hurt by some kind of protective spell or something like that. Knowing that this wouldn’t convince Louis to back off, he decided to try something else.

“Not really. Just not a big fan of tightness, remember?” Niall said, looking up at the ruin.

Louis made a small “oh" and turned on his heel to look at Niall. His arms slumped down a bit and he seemed to slowly lose his previous excitement. Before that could happen, Niall grinned at him.

“But I guess that's a good thing? It's still cold as fuck and I'm not sure if they got central heating.”

It worked, at least a bit, because Louis snorted at his words, a small smile forming back on his face.

“So I guess you want to go back?”

“What I want right now is a nice pint of Butterbeer, so yeah, we can go back,” Niall nodded. “However, I'm flattered that you wanted to hold my hand.”

“Only to stop you from shrieking louder than this shack, Horan. I don't fancy losing my hearing yet.”

Niall only laughed loudly and caught up with Louis, who took the road back to the Three Broomsticks.

“A real hero. Always forfeiting his well-being for others.”

And maybe when Niall bumped their shoulders together, it wasn't just an accident.

***

This whole thing was messing with Louis’ feelings and he didn’t enjoy it. On one hand it was all going okay. They had spent some time after classes together. It made Louis nervous as hell, but it was worth it. His original plan for the day in Hogsmeade turned out to be rubbish, but it was worth it. They ended up in a pub packed with other students, talking for over two hours, but it was worth it. Louis cheeks still burned at the memory of Niall wiping the foam off Louis’ nose, but it was worth it.

What wasn’t worth it was the fact that nothing had changed between them. And it frustrated Louis to no end.

He asked Niall out. On a date. Well, maybe Louis hadn’t  _ specified _ it was a date, but that was just a tiny detail and Puffy should know it. What else was he supposed to do? Approach Niall randomly, shove him against the wall and just kiss him? What a ridiculous idea (that had never crossed Louis’ mind before). Instead, he decided to go back to the survey he’d been carrying out from the beginning.

Unfortunately, it seemed to be as useless as it was before. He kept receiving the same suggestions that he’d already checked out. Other than taking Niall out, Louis bought him food, complimented his Quidditch skills, laughed at his jokes, closely listened to what he had to say (which wasn’t hard to be honest), tried to hypothetically protect him from hypothetical dangers inside the Shrieking Shack. He even gave him a bloody  _ jar of leaves _ . And yet, he still didn’t have a Puffy’s endless love.

 

To make Louis’ bad mood even worse, he was called to the Headmistress’ office. Louis didn't remember doing anything particularly bad lately and not knowing what to expect wasn't helping to loosen his nerves as he faced the heavy, oaken door.

“Come in.”

Taking one more big breath, Louis walked into Professor McGonagall’s office.

It wasn't his first visit here. Actually, he had been called here a few times before and even heard that he’s going to be expelled once or twice. But eventually he had agreed that trying to climb up the Whomping Willow was a bad idea and he promised to stop being a pain in the arse. And he kept his promise, haven't done anything that drastic since then.

“Ah, Tomlinson,” the Headmistress said with a small sigh. She put down the parchment she was holding and looked at Louis with some disappointment in her eyes. “I hoped that I wouldn’t have to hear more complaints against you but apparently I was just being naive, wasn’t I?”

Still hovering near the door, Louis furrowed his brows in confusion. He started to go through his memories, trying to remember what might be considered “complaint worthy”. It was quite hard, since Louis’ mind was occupied only by Niall lately. He didn't even had time to think about possible banter.

“I'm sorry, professor, but I'm not sure what is this about,” Louis answered.

Professor McGonagall gestured for him to sit down before she spoke again, “That's quite unfortunate, since I've heard that some Hufflepuffs are very annoyed with your behaviour.”

Hufflepuffs? Louis winced. Did he hurt any Puffy’s feelings? Niall was a Puffy. Did he hurt Niall's feelings? Maybe Louis shouldn't have taken him to the Shrieking Shack, he should have thought this through better. But on the other hand Niall didn't seem to be that kind of person that made complaints about anyone. What if Louis had hurt him really badly?

“I've heard about some kind of offensive survey you've been carrying out?” the Headmistress said.

Oh. So that was why he was here. Louis relaxed a bit, thinking that Niall didn't know about the poll so he shouldn't be hurt by it. Or... at least Louis hoped Niall didn't know about it.

“Well, professor, this is an obvious misunderstanding,” Louis explained. “It was meant to be a serious research, insulting anyone wasn't my intention. It's not my fault that Puffs are so touchy.”

The Headmistress sent him a warning look and Louis mumbled a quick apology. However, she didn’t seem to believe in Louis’ explanation. It wasn’t his fault that he was right and some Hufflepuffs were just overly-sensitive. What might be his fault was that, after all his pranks, it was harder for people to take him seriously. 

“I’m afraid that’s only your opinion, Mister Tomlinson. The harm had been done,” Professor McGonagall said, before adding, “If you think you did nothing wrong, though, will you please show me the questionnaire, so I can assess it myself?”

Louis shrugged, agreeing at the Headmistress’ conditions with a nod. He started riffling through his bag, finally finding his notebook. After flipping a few pages, he found the thing he was looking for and… He hesitated for a moment. All of sudden, Zayn’s words from a few days ago sounded in Louis’ head. What if his friend was right and this thing was ridiculous? Louis looked at the paper filled with ideas and with all the little things about Niall he got to know, scribbled on the margins. Biting his lower lip, Louis decided that he didn’t have a choice anyway, so he handed the notebook to the Headmistress. 

After her first glance at the headline, the professor’s eyes widened a bit and Louis started to fidget with his sleeves, trying to calm his nerves a bit. Professor McGonagall inspected his notes quite closely and while she was doing that, Louis didn’t wanted to look at her. Mostly because he was afraid what he could see on her face.

“I see,” the Headmistress said after a while, placing the notebook on the desk. Louis could feel her eyes on him. “I’m sorry I’ve judged you so hastily.”

After Louis slowly glanced back at her and shrugged with a small smile, she continued, “You said it’s serious research. Is there… someone in particular you wish to woo?”

The question wasn’t something Louis was expecting. He could feel a blush creeping up his face and he shifted uncomfortably on his chair. It was one thing going around the castle and asking random people all these questions, while having Niall in mind. But it was different to actually  _ admit  _ he had Niall in mind. The only person who knew about that was Zayn and, to be honest, Louis prefered to leave it like that. But… what he was supposed to do? Have a casual conversation with the  _ Headmistress _ about his feelings towards Niall? Just thinking about it made him mortified.

“Well, um… That’s a bit, um, personal… and it’s not…,” Louis mumbled, fixating his eyes on the ground.

“Love is a very personal thing, isn’t it?” Professor McGonagall said with something soft in her voice. “You wanted to find the right answer by asking the wrong questions. There’s not one, universal solution. Because the answer is different and unique for everyone. Just like the person you’ve found is one of a kind.”

A wave of warmth went through Louis body, making his stomach flutter. That sounded right. Niall really was one of a kind. With his fake blonde hair, Irish lilt in his voice, and blinding smile. With his cheeky comments, stories that made you engaged to no end and thoughtful gestures. With his fears, hopes and likes.

“Don’t ask the whole castle,” the Headmistress advised, ”the whole castle don’t know the person you like. Try to seek help from someone who is close to them. Or someone who is close to you. Your friends will know how you express affection and how they like to receive it. Ask yourself what you can do to make that person happy.”

Louis thought about all the things he already knew about Niall, those that he was precisely scribbling on the margins of his notebook. He knew that he always was more cheerful and full of energy on sunny days. And that talking about his home always made him light up, even if he might be a bit more homesick after that. And that sometimes he climbed up the Astronomy Tower at night to just stare at the sky, take a breath and calm his nerves. Louis remembered all of the times Niall had laughed at his jokes and how he was always smiling at the Slytherin boy from his spot in the Great Hall. Louis had to bit his lower lip to stop his own smile from appearing on his face.

“Every person, every  _ Hufflepuff _ ,” the Headmistress continued, sending Louis a look over her glasses but it wasn’t one of the severe ones he got before, “is a whole new story. And you have to get to know it specifically, to see if this is a story you want to be a part of.”

 

Just as Louis was about to leave, after thanking Professor McGonagall a few moments later, still a bit overwhelmed, her voice made him stop with one hand wrapped around the doorknob.

“Also,” she added, peering at the Slytherin boy, “ _ do not _ give them a jar of leaves.”

The only answer Louis could give was a sheepish grin, before he said goodbye and left the Headmistress' office.

***

“Why do you hate me so much,” Niall whined, lumbering after Louis, who was taking two steps at time.

“Come on, princess! It’s just a few stairs, you can do this,” the Slytherin grinned over his shoulder. “Besides, we’re almost there.”

Niall whined again, mostly to make that smile stay on Louis’ face, not because he was that tired. Although, it was kind of exhausting to climb all the way up from the Entrance Hall to the seventh floor. The Hufflepuff really hoped that whatever Louis had planned, would be worth it (as if any time spent with Louis wasn’t worth it).

The last few weeks were… weird. Like, pleasantly-confusing weird. They were hanging out a lot, mostly because Louis was approaching Niall every time he spotted the Hufflepuff boy somewhere in the hallways. Almost every morning, Niall was getting up with a smile on his face, that only grew bigger during the day, when he saw Louis. He couldn't get rid of the warm feeling in the pit of his stomach every time he looked at the Slytherin boy. The way Louis devoted his attention to Niall was very flattering but also very frustrating. It was way harder to ignore that part of him that just wanted to grab that Slytherin twat by his robes and kiss him.

“Where are we even going?” Niall continued his grumbling, “It's Saturday. I could've been in ma bed, not having to look at your ugly mug.”

“We both know what you prefer,” Louis waggled his eyebrows and Niall was glad he turned away, so he couldn't spot the blush appearing on Niall's cheeks.

Finally, they had reached the top of the stairs and Niall gave an exaggerated sigh that was completely ignored. After a short walk down the corridor and a few turns, Louis suddenly stopped.

“We're here,” he said, smiling proudly.

A bit confused, Niall looked around, wondering how can an empty corridor be interesting. There were no classroom doors nor staircases here, the only thing that might draw somebody's attention, was the big tapestry of dancing trolls behind their backs.

“Well, that's… this is a very nice… hallway,” Niall said eventually. “Thank you for taking me here. It's a seriously life changing experience. I’m never-”

“Will you, please, shut that pretty mouth of yours?” Louis interrupted, looking partially amused and partially annoyed.

Before the blonde could even react, he felt Louis fingers entwining with his own. Blinking slowly, Niall glanced down at their hands and he felt like a wave of something warm was radiating from Louis palm, crawling up and taking over Niall's whole body. The blood rushed to his cheeks, making them more red than usual. Hesitantly, the Hufflepuff lifted his eyes to look at Louis, but the latter wasn't looking back at him. The smaller boy's eyes were fixated on the wall in front of him, cheeks stained with a hint of red when he was biting at his lower lip.

Louis tugged at his arm lightly, as they started walking along the wall. After just few steps, the Slytherin boy stopped and turned around, continuing his walk the other way. Niall didn't really care why they had changed directions in front of a regular wall so many times. What had been occupying his mind much more, was how good Louis’ hand fitted in his. He wondered if Louis would mind that much, if Niall kissed him now. He wondered if Louis would agree to visit him at home during the summer if Niall asked. He wondered how was it possible that this mischievous Slytherin was messed with his head so badly after so little time.

All the thoughts floating in his mind made the blonde boy not notice the big wooden door that appeared out of nowhere. Only after Louis squeezed his hand lightly, Niall shook out of his thoughts and looked around. The smaller boy just stood there quietly, giving Niall time to process what he saw.

“Is that-,” Niall said, his voice coming out a bit raspy. He cleared his throat and continued, “Is that the... Room of Requirement?”

The awe was probably clear on his face and Louis’ only answer was a big grin. The Slytherin took a step forward, grabbing the doorknob and turning his head back. His eyes landed on their still connected hands, before he lifted them to look Niall in the eyes. Biting at his lower lip, Louis smiled a bit hesitantly before pushing the door open.

Not sure what to expect Niall walked past Louis who was holding the door for him. His eyes didn't want to leave the latter's face but eventually Niall turned away to take a look at the room.

What he saw, left him completely breathless. He let go of Louis’ hand and took a few more steps, taking everything in.

Niall was standing in the middle of a spacious but not very big bedroom. The walls were blue, an Irish flag hanging proudly on one of them, just above the bed. An acoustic guitar was propped up on the nightstand. In one corner, there was a desk, stocked with books, magazines, pieces of paper and other stuff. Over the desk, there was a big pinboard with random notes, pictures and a very old Derby County poster. Niall could see the dark, starry sky outside the open window. In front of it there was a very old, very heavy telescope put on even heavier tripod. It all look very familiar, but at the same time a bit different. 

After a few more moments, the realisation hit Niall. He had heard about how the Room of Requirement worked. It could turn into whatever you wanted if you thought about it hard enough. So when Louis brought him here, he must had thought about Niall’s home, about what Niall told him about it. It was Louis idea of what it looked like. The most important things, the ones that Niall had described, had remained the same, only the details changed.

With his eyes wide, Niall turned around to face Louis. The other boy was still hovering near the door frame, looking a bit… disappointed? When he noticed Niall’s eyes on him, he ran his hand through his hair nervously.

“It was supposed to be something more… fancy, but… i couldn’t think of anything. Plus you were quite a distraction, so it's basically your fault. And then I remembered that you always say you can’t wait to visit home, so…,” Louis shrugged, his eyes roaming around the room, but never stopping at Niall. “I’m sorry, it probably doesn’t look similar and-”

Niall’s heart hammered in his chest and the Hufflepuff boy thought it was going to explode any moment. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t speak, he couldn’t think properly.

Louis remembered all the little things Niall had told him during their conversations. Louis wanted to bring Niall home.

Barely registering that Louis was still explaining himself, Niall took a few steps forward until he was standing right in front of the Slytherin boy. The latter stopped mid sentence, scanning Niall’s face with worry. Without saying anything, the Hufflepuff raised his hands to cup Louis’ face. The smaller boy’s eyes widened, his cheeks felt warm under Niall’s palms and eyes skipping from Niall’s eyes to his lips.

It was hard to think about anything right now. Niall didn’t care about his previous hesitations or the consequences. He felt like he was gravitating toward Louis and there was nothing that could stop him now. So he just leaned forward and connected his mouth with Louis’. The kiss was soft and gentle, just a shy chase of lips that was supposed to show all the things they couldn’t quite understand and didn’t know how to voice.

After a few moments, Niall moved away just the slightest bit. He could feel Louis’ warm breath on his face and a small smile appeared on his face, quickly mirrored by Louis.

“Thank you,” Niall said quietly. “This is perfect.”

“It’s hard to disagree, but...” Louis tried to sound cheeky but it turned out a bit breathless, “could you probably do that thing with your mouth again?”

Niall only chuckled, but his laughter quickly died out when Louis wrapped his arms around Niall’s neck to bring him closer and connect their lips once more.


End file.
